Utilization of Root Vole (Microtus oeconomus) on Different Types of Habitats

Habitat utilization of root vole (Microtus oeconomus) was studied in the region of Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem Research Station,the Chinese Academy of Sciences,from July to September of 2002 and 2003.Three indexes of activity intensities,runway length,runway branch number and burrow entrance number were used to estimate root vole s utilization intensities on four types of habitats,manual cultivated land,true meadow,swamp meadow and Dasiphora fruticosa shrub.It was same that three indexes of activity intensities trended in four types of habitats.The activity intensities of root vole on four types of habitats were in ascending order of the manual cultivated land,true meadow,swamp meadow and D.fruticosa shrub.Three indexes of activity intensities were different significantly between each two types of habitats,except the runway length and runway branch number between the true meadow and swamp meadow.Overall,the root vole preferred the dense microhabitat with abundant food resource and no existence of competitive rodents.